A large percentage of the world's vehicles run on gasoline using an internal combustion engine. The use of such vehicles, more specifically the use of vehicles which rely on fossil fuels, e.g., gasoline, creates two problems. First, due to the finite size and limited regional availability of such fuels, major price fluctuations and a generally upward pricing trend in the cost of gasoline are common, both of which can have a dramatic impact at the consumer level. Second, fossil fuel combustion is one of the primary sources of carbon dioxide, a greenhouse gas, and thus one of the leading contributors to global warming. Accordingly, considerable effort has been spent on finding alternative drive systems for use in both personal and commercial vehicles.
Electric vehicles, due to their cleaner and more efficient drive systems, offer one of the most promising alternatives to vehicles that use internal combustion drive trains. To be successful, however, an electric vehicle must meet consumers' expectations relative to performance, range, reliability, lifetime and cost. These expectations, in turn, place considerable importance on the design, configuration and implementation of the electric vehicle's rechargeable batteries.
In a typical electric vehicle, either an all-electric or hybrid vehicle, the battery pack is mounted to the vehicle's floor in a location intended to be as unobtrusive as possible. For example, in U.S. Pat. No. 7,427,093, issued 23 Sep. 2008, the battery pack is mounted to the vehicle floor panel, under the front seat. The disclosed system includes a protective member, for example attached to the battery pack itself, which is shaped and positioned to protect the battery pack and the wiring harness from possible damage by passengers in the rear seat.
U.S. Pat. No. 7,717,207, issued 18 May 2010, discloses an alternate battery pack mounting structure that is intended to minimize battery pack damage in the event of a vehicle collision. As disclosed, the battery pack is mounted to the rear portion of the vehicle frame, the frame including a deformable portion that deforms in an up-down direction when an impact load is applied in a longitudinal direction. The battery pack is fixed to the frame in such a way that it will move relative to the deformable portion when the deformable portion deforms under load, thus minimizing the transfer of load energy to the battery pack and allowing the shape of the pack to be maintained during a collision.
U.S. Pat. No. 8,037,960, issued 18 Oct. 2011, discloses an alternate battery mounting structure designed to minimize battery pack damage in the event of a vehicle collision. As disclosed, the battery pack structure is mounted to the rear side of the rear vehicle seats using bolts/screws that are designed to break and allow the battery pack to detach and move when the vehicle is in a collision.
Although the prior art teaches a variety of techniques for mounting large battery packs within an electric vehicle, what is needed is a battery mounting system that fully integrates the battery pack enclosure into the vehicle in such a way as to take advantage of the pack's rigidity and strength, while still protecting the battery pack from accidental damage and minimizing the effects of the battery pack on vehicle occupant comfort and safety. The present invention provides such a system.